One of the most dangerous games out there is Civilization V. No other title gets its hooks into you and becomes an all-consuming obsession. You can plan to play one hour in the evening and the next thing you know… Continue Reading →

One of the most dangerous games out there is Civilization V. No other title gets its hooks into you and becomes an all-consuming obsession. You can plan to play one hour in the evening and the next thing you know the sun is rising in the morning. It’s that addictive.

With Civilization V: Brave New World, players will have another reason to go for just one more turn. The second expansion pack for the landmark strategy game shores up some of less polished elements of the original.

I sat down with Brave New World’s executive producer Ed Beach, who showed me the new civilizations and improvements.

Here is Maria I, the leader of the Portuguese people.

MEET THE NEW CIVS: Firaxis has already announced that Poland will be one of the new civilization. The news that Syria and Brazil will be making their way to the game raised eyebrows as well. At the preview tour in San Francisco, Beach showed off Portugal and the Zulu. The event focused more on Portugal, which is geared to take advantage of the new trade system.

That was one of the bigger changes I saw in Brave New World. Firaxis revamped the trade system so that it’s more streamlined. Players just click on a trade unit like a caravan or galleon and pick which city to trade with. They have to keep in mind what resources a city has and what the destination needs. The farther the trading port the more gold players will get. In addition, they have to factor in how much science and religion flows between ports and routes.

The Nau and the Feitoria are two of the special units that the Portuguese have.

TRADE IS MORE POWERFUL: As I mentioned before, trade will be a specialty for the Portuguese and Maria I. Their civilization is geared toward the naval trading game with a unit called the Nau, a caravel with extra movement, and the feitoria, a coastal fortification that takes whatever luxury good a city-state has and makes Portugal a copy. What makes trade even more powerful is that players can use it within the empire to bolster areas. They can send excess food to a slow growing city for a population boom, or if a place is building a wonder, they can send production to that municipality to speed up the process.

Trade becomes an even bigger factor in the latter half of the game, Beach said. It impacts culture and diplomacy, two systems that also get a major overhaul in Brave New World. One of the big criticisms when it came to playing for a culture victory in the past is that the road to winning was passive. Beach said players made a small nation because the social policy would be cheaper and hoped that no one would attack them for a while.

Players can actually have great artists living a city so they can produce art works like El Greco’s View of Toledo.

CULTURE AS AN ACTIVE FORCE: In the new expansion pack, culture becomes a granular, offensive force. Players don’t just build cultural buildings such as museums and opera houses; they also fill thosee institutions with great works like a Monet and the Great Gatsby. Players can even view or read the work, trade it with other civilizations or mix and match it with other buildings to maximize their cultural benefit.

If players can amass enough masterpieces, they can start getting a resource called tourism that draws other civilizations to your nation and spread your influence. That resource becomes even more important when archaeologists are developed in the later eras. They can explore the world and unearth relics to take back to your civilization’s museums. They can even raid heritage sites of other nations, which can turn into a international scandal.

You have to wonder if all archaeologists dress like Indiana Jones?

RAIDERS OF THE LOST BATTLEFIELD: The smartest thing about archaeology is that it’s based on the history of your playthrough. Brave New World memorizes the major events that unfolded in your game. If there was a battle, it will remember that tile as an important site 1000 years ago. If players run into ancient ruins or barbarian settlements, that becomes an area for archaeologists to dig up. It’s brilliant.

Once players amassed enough tourism and other nations acknowledge your cultural superiority, you win the game.

Founding the World Congress has some big advantages.

DIPLOMACY CHANGES THE GAME: Lastly, diplomacy has new importance in earlier with the World Congress. That’s formed when one civilization manages to contact all the others and has a printing press. The group meets periodically and it’s where players can essentially change the rules of the game. Each civilization has a vote with the host nation holding two votes. (That’s a benefit and incentive to explore.)

“We thought we were missing an opportunity because it happened late in the game,” Beach said. “It would have been something cool all along so why not bring it in sooner?”

The World Congress can enforce a trade embargo and ruin a rival’s economy. They can push a nonnuclear proliferation treaty or ban a luxury. All of these proposals will make potential friends and allies and it will be up to you to count votes and persuade neutral members of the Congress.

That’s where spies have an added value. They can be turned into a diplomat and tell you if a rival nation is leaning against your proposal. They can also pass along rumors and facilitate a trade for a vote in the World Congress. Play nice with all your fellow world leaders and perhaps players may get a diplomatic victory and be elected World Leader.

Civilization V: Brave New World comes out on PC in the North America on July 9. It comes out on July 12 everywhere else. Players don’t need the previous expansion — Gods & Kings — to play Brave New World. But if they don’t get it, some of the features mentioned won’t be in the game.

Civilization’s core gameplay hasn’t changed much. It’s just the periphery, the little extras that have evolved. If it were a building, it would be one that’s gone through countless renovation, but it’s foundation and structure remain sound. Producer Dennis Shirk… Continue Reading →

Civilization’s core gameplay hasn’t changed much. It’s just the periphery, the little extras that have evolved. If it were a building, it would be one that’s gone through countless renovation, but it’s foundation and structure remain sound. Producer Dennis Shirk gave a quick demo of Civilization 5, which is launching for the PC in the fall.

1. The game is shifting from square tiles to hexagonal ones. This changes unit movement. Players can now go northwest and southeast instead of the four cardinal directions. The new tiles also create continents and islands that look more organic and real as evidenced by the nice screenshot above. The new land styles will also include other formations in different styles. For mod, fans there is also a stand-alone world builder.

2. The UI is more simplified. Firxaxis hid a lot of the extra commands of the heads-up display, giving players a cleaner look. Less clutter is always a plus. On top of that, icons in the bottom right corner will advice or remind players of things to do next. They’ll tell you if need to produce something in city and such.

3. There will be an in-game browser that will help fans search for new mods. This is a nod to the strong Civ community who have created plenty of interesting maps and changes. In the browser, players can search and rate mods that the community has made. The new game brings the community more to the forefront.

4. There’s a new emphasis on world leaders. They speak in their own language, and players will see them in a setting that’s unique to them. Napolean will be on a battlefield; Gandhi is going to be out by the sea. Meanwhile, the AI will constantly be working in the background working toward one of the major Civ goals such cultural victory, space race victory or diplomatic victory. You can also enter research agreements with other countries so that the two can achieve goals faster. Just remember, if there’s war, then a lot research will have gone to waste.

5. City-States! These new additions are supposed to grease the wheels of diplomacy. They don’t get as large as a country, but they do act as nation NPCs. Players can invest in them early on by helping with barbarians or giving them financial aid. In return, they may pump out a unit or two every so often or share research.

6. Lastly, the biggest change is tactical combat. This time around, it’s one unit per tile. In addition, ranged combat works differently now. Players now have to move archers to hills or hide them behind a front line. Bowman and similar units can soften the front line so that spearmen and warriors can break through and destroy an enemy line. In addition, combat itself is more realistic. It doesn’t always end with a unit dying. And because of the 1 unit per tile rule, cities have to defend themselves, making forts even more vital near large population centers.

The smaller number of units means that everyone is valuable, and players will have to outmaneuver rivals and use the terrain to win.